Wisconsin hockey players dispatch stray bat during game with RoughRiders

When a bat flew into the arena where the Green Bay Gamblers were playing Cedar Rapids, coach Jon Cooper made the call. He sent three of his players to take care of business - with sticks in hand.

The junior hockey team is now getting some jeers for killing the bat. Tori Perry of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says the Gamblers should have tried to net the bat and release it unharmed.

Cooper told WLUK-TV on Wednesday it's turned into "Batgate." But he says rabies is a serious concern, and his thoughts Tuesday night were not only for his players, but the hundreds of fans in the arena.

The players, with hockey sticks and full pads, might have been well protected.

But that wasn't so when San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili swatted a stray bat out of mid-air with his bare hands during a game on Halloween. He needed rabies shots.